We have taken aerial photographs of Sweden since the 1930s and have produced satellite images since the 1970s. This means that we not only have an amazing archive of both analogue and digital aerial images, but also that we can offer unique opportunities to chart changes in the natural and built environment.

An overview that reveals details

What can satellite images tell us about a little beetle five millimetres long?

Quite a lot actually. Satellite imagery provides a good overview over expansive areas such as forests. By comparing satellite images from different years, one can see how the forests change in appearance and thus get a sense of the movements of noxious insects like the spruce bark beetle.

However, our aerial photographs are taken at a lower altitude than the satellite images and provide more detailed information on what is happening on the ground. Maybe not detailed enough to see the spruce bark beetles, but to enough to see how the vegetation is affected by their rampage.